Upstream information

CVE-2025-38554 at MITRE

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mm: fix a UAF when vma->mm is freed after vma->vm_refcnt got dropped

By inducing delays in the right places, Jann Horn created a reproducer for
a hard to hit UAF issue that became possible after VMAs were allowed to be
recycled by adding SLAB_TYPESAFE_BY_RCU to their cache.

Race description is borrowed from Jann's discovery report:
lock_vma_under_rcu() looks up a VMA locklessly with mas_walk() under
rcu_read_lock(). At that point, the VMA may be concurrently freed, and it
can be recycled by another process. vma_start_read() then increments the
vma->vm_refcnt (if it is in an acceptable range), and if this succeeds,
vma_start_read() can return a recycled VMA.

In this scenario where the VMA has been recycled, lock_vma_under_rcu()
will then detect the mismatching ->vm_mm pointer and drop the VMA through
vma_end_read(), which calls vma_refcount_put(). vma_refcount_put() drops
the refcount and then calls rcuwait_wake_up() using a copy of vma->vm_mm.
This is wrong: It implicitly assumes that the caller is keeping the VMA's
mm alive, but in this scenario the caller has no relation to the VMA's mm,
so the rcuwait_wake_up() can cause UAF.

The diagram depicting the race:
T1 T2 T3
== == ==
lock_vma_under_rcu
mas_walk
<VMA gets removed from mm>
mmap
<the same VMA is reallocated>
vma_start_read
__refcount_inc_not_zero_limited_acquire
munmap
__vma_enter_locked
refcount_add_not_zero
vma_end_read
vma_refcount_put
__refcount_dec_and_test
rcuwait_wait_event
<finish operation>
rcuwait_wake_up [UAF]

Note that rcuwait_wait_event() in T3 does not block because refcount was
already dropped by T1. At this point T3 can exit and free the mm causing
UAF in T1.

To avoid this we move vma->vm_mm verification into vma_start_read() and
grab vma->vm_mm to stabilize it before vma_refcount_put() operation.

[surenb@google.com: v3]

SUSE information

Overall state of this security issue: Pending

This issue is currently rated as having important severity.

CVSS v3 Scores
  SUSE
Base Score 7
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack Vector Local
Attack Complexity High
Privileges Required Low
User Interaction None
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality Impact High
Integrity Impact High
Availability Impact High
CVSSv3 Version 3.1
CVSS v4 Scores
  SUSE
Base Score 7.3
Vector CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Attack Vector Local
Attack Complexity Low
Attack Requirements Present
Privileges Required Low
User Interaction None
Vulnerable System Confidentiality Impact High
Vulnerable System Integrity Impact High
Vulnerable System Availability Impact High
Subsequent System Confidentiality Impact None
Subsequent System Integrity Impact None
Subsequent System Availability Impact None
CVSSv4 Version 4.0

Note from the SUSE Security Team on the kernel-default package

SUSE will no longer fix all CVEs in the Linux Kernel anymore, but declare some bug classes as won't fix. Please refer to TID 21496 for more details.

SUSE Bugzilla entries: 1248299 [NEW], 1248301 [NEW]

No SUSE Security Announcements cross referenced.


Status of this issue by product and package

Please note that this evaluation state might be work in progress, incomplete or outdated. Also information for service packs in the LTSS phase is only included for issues meeting the LTSS criteria. If in doubt, feel free to contact us for clarification. The updates are grouped by state of their lifecycle. SUSE product lifecycles are documented on the lifecycle page.

Product(s) Source package State
Products under general support and receiving all security fixes.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP6 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP6 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP6 kernel-source-azure Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 kernel-source-azure Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 kernel-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 kernel-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 kernel-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 kernel-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP6 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP6 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP7 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP7 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 kernel-source-azure Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 kernel-source-azure Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP6 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP7 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 kernel-source-azure Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 kernel-source-azure Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 kernel-default Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 kernel-source Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 kernel-source-azure Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 kernel-source-azure Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 kernel-source-azure Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 16.0 kernel-source Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 16.0 kernel-source-azure Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP6 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP6 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Micro 6.2 kernel-source Affected
SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP6 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP7 kernel-source-rt Not affected
openSUSE Leap 15.6 kernel-default Not affected
openSUSE Leap 15.6 kernel-source Not affected
openSUSE Leap 15.6 kernel-source-azure Not affected
openSUSE Leap 15.6 kernel-source-rt Not affected
Products under Long Term Service Pack support and receiving important and critical security fixes.
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5 kernel-source-azure Unsupported
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP3 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP4 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP5 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP5 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5 kernel-source-azure Unsupported
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 LTSS EXTREME CORE kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 LTSS EXTREME CORE kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 kernel-source-azure Unsupported
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS kernel-source-azure Unsupported
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS Extended Security kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS Extended Security kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 kernel-source-azure Unsupported
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 kernel-source-azure Unsupported
SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Proxy LTS 4.3 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Manager Proxy LTS 4.3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.3 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server LTS 4.3 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server LTS 4.3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Server 4.3 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Manager Server 4.3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Server LTS 4.3 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Manager Server LTS 4.3 kernel-source Not affected
Products past their end of life and not receiving proactive updates anymore.
SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Enterprise Storage 7 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP1 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP5 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-ESPOS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-ESPOS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.0 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP1 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP1 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 12 SP2-CLIENT kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP5 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCL kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-ESPOS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-ESPOS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCL kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-BCL kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-BCL kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15-LTSS kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15-LTSS kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 kernel-default Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 kernel-source-azure Unsupported
SUSE Manager Proxy 4.0 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Proxy 4.1 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Proxy 4.2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.0 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.1 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Server 4.0 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Server 4.1 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Manager Server 4.2 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE OpenStack Cloud 7 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE OpenStack Cloud 9 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 kernel-source Not affected
SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP3 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP4 kernel-source-rt Not affected
SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP5 kernel-source-rt Not affected
openSUSE Leap 15.3 kernel-source Not affected
openSUSE Leap 15.3 kernel-source-rt Not affected
openSUSE Leap 15.4 kernel-source Not affected
openSUSE Leap 15.4 kernel-source-azure Unsupported
openSUSE Leap 15.4 kernel-source-rt Not affected
openSUSE Leap 15.5 kernel-source Not affected
openSUSE Leap 15.5 kernel-source-azure Unsupported
openSUSE Leap 15.5 kernel-source-rt Not affected


SUSE Timeline for this CVE

CVE page created: Tue Aug 19 19:54:10 2025
CVE page last modified: Mon Sep 8 12:35:09 2025